Crowther Lab

The Crowther Lab is a unique, interdisciplinary research group based at ETH Zurich, focussed on generating globally-relevant ecological information that is urgently needed by forest managers around the world to improve the success of forest restoration efforts.

The Crowther Lab is a unique, interdisciplinary research group based at ETH Zurich. They are focussed on generating globally-relevant ecological information that is urgently needed by forest managers around the world to improve the success of forest restoration efforts. This research will form the bridge between theoretical ecology and direct practical action, providing on-the-ground tools to combat biodiversity loss, climate change and rural poverty.

This research will also generate the global scale ecological information that is neccessary to improve our understanding of climate change. Until now, our understanding of the climate system is dominated by the physical sciences. But it is organisms and ecosystems that drive the carbon cycle and climate system.

Ultimately, the research will enable to understand how changes in terrestrial ecosystems (e.g. increases or decreases in forest area) will affect the carbon cycle and the climate over the rest of the century. To do this, a combination of approaches is being used: Earth System Modeling, Global Forest Mapping, Global Soil Biodiversity Exploration and Community Ecology.